NH 90 deployed to rescue operations, France wants border control

On Sunday afternoon, the Belgian flight NH90 was actually called up while searching for a sinking boat with 38 migrants on board. Two missing persons were found ten miles off the French coast. After an hour and a half, the boat, already in English waters, was found to have sunk. Ten drowned people have been captured by a French Navy ship, and five others have been lifted aboard the NH90.

Eventually all of the remaining people on board were disembarked on the ship for further medical treatment. Most of them were suffering from severe hypothermia.

political consequences

Carl Decaluy, governor of West Flanders state, was surprised by the French Interior Minister’s comments on the immigration problem. According to the governor, this is a broad problem that cannot be traced back only to our country.

On Saturday, French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said he had requested more monitoring along the Belgian border. According to Darmanen, 50 percent of migrants who want to cross from Calais or Dunkirk to the UK come from Belgium. “Not true,” says Governor Decaluy. “The problem is more diverse. Yes, people come from Belgium, but also from France, Germany or the Netherlands. This is a general problem and people smugglers are getting smarter all the time.”

Betting on joint business

According to Decaloy, border control is also not the right answer. “A broad structural solution must be found. Joint actions, as we discussed Friday at a meeting in Dunkirk, seem to me rather a solution.”